they go out with the tide (and come back with the waves)
by softiesharpie
Summary: While Sara and Ray are in the crisis, Ava decides to take her time kids to Aruba for a much needed vacation.


Sara's brief explanation wasn't nearly enough to satisfy Ava's curiosity.

One moment she was on the couch in the game room with Charlie, Behrad, Nate, Nora, and Mick. They were watching a movie together while Sara and Ray went out drinking.

Randomly, Ava got a call from Sara quickly explaining that the universe was at stake and that there were actually more than one universe. She was saying all of these things that confused the hell out of Ava. Sara told her to stay put and to help keep the Legends distracted and safe and told her she loved her before ending the call.

So now, Ava was sitting there frowning while the Legends looked at her worriedly.

"Everything okay, Ava?" Nate asked when she stayed silent. They could all feel the energy in the room shift after Ava's phone call.

Ava let out a shaky breath and decided to be honest. She asked Gideon to turn the off the movie before getting up to stand in front of the team.

"That was Sara. She said something about the universe being in danger? Something about a crisis? I dunno... she said that we needed to not interfere and that she and Ray would be back soon." She explained, making eye contact with all of them.

"Ray..." Nora whispered with a frown.

"When are they coming back?" Behrad broke the silence.

Ava sighed. "I don't know yet. She just said they'd be back soon and ended the call. It seemed urgent." She bit her lip.

Everyone looked worried except for Mick, who just drank his beer and stared at the ceiling with a bored look on his face.

"I don't even know what the multiverse is." Ava said. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that Sara and Ray will be okay. And they'll be back before we know it."

"What are we gonna do until they get back?" Charlie asked, propping their feet up on the coffee table. They didn't really know what the multiverse was either, but they knew Sara would explain when she got back.

Ava ran her fingers through her hair and looked up at the ceiling briefly before making eye contact with the team again. "How about we take the ship somewhere for a vacation?"

Mick perked up at that. "Vacation?"

Ava nodded, "yeah. You all deserve it after defeating Neron. Plus, I'm sure we could all use the distraction."

"Cool! Where are we going?" Behrad asked.

Ava thought for a moment, not being able to focus on anything but Sara and the current threat she and Ray were facing.

"Aruba." Mick grunted.

Ava's eyes darted to him. "What?"

"Let's go to Aruba." He said.

Ava blinked. "But haven't you all been there before? Don't you want to go somewhere new?"

Mick shook his head. "Nope. Aruba."

Ava, at first, didn't like the idea of going to a beach. In fact, she didn't think she'd ever been to one, not really. She had memories as a child of going to the beach with her parents, but she knew those weren't real.

"Okay... is everyone else fine with that?" She asked, looking at the rest of them.

They all nodded.

"Great. Go change into your swimsuits while I pack a bag for us. When we're all ready, we'll time jump there." Ava said with a small smile, watching as the Legends got up and went to their separate rooms.

When they were gone, she let her mask slip as she went over to the control panel. She was so tempted to ask Gideon to tell her where Sara was. But... she respected Sara's wishes. Sara was adamant about Ava staying far away from situation and watching the Legends.

"Gideon?" She whispered.

"Yes, Miss Sharpe?"

Ava sighed. "What's the likelihood of Sara surviving the crisis?"

Gideon stayed silent for a moment before replying, "I calculate an 83% chance that Captain Lance will survive."

Ava closed her eyes when she felt tears form in them. What if she dies... I'll never forgive myself for not going with her.

Ava sniffed, her tears finally falling. She was trying to pull herself together, knowing she needed to be the strong one. But it was hard to do that when there was a possibility of Sara never returning.

"Hey Ava?" Nora's voice pulled Ava out of her thoughts.

Ava looked up and quickly wiped away her tears. "Hey, Nor. Are you all packed?" She tried to smile, but it fell short and ended up looking like a wince.

Nora looked at her knowingly. "I'm worried about them too."

Ava sighed and sniffed. "I know Sara's strong and she's been through so much but... what if she doesn't come back from this?" She confided in Nora.

"I don't know what I'd do without her. I've never had to run this ship by myself... I can't even pull myself together right now, much less run a time ship." Ava chuckled tearfully.

Nora went closer to her and stood in front of her silently, a few feet away. She looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. Her eyes were filled with tears and she had a crestfallen look on her face. She couldn't imagine her life without Ray, she didn't even want to think about it.

"Oh, honey." Ava frowned when she saw Nora about to cry.

Nora's resolve fell and she looked down as she finally let her tears fall.

"Come here." Ava softened and opened her arms, letting Nora walk into them. She hugged her tightly, hiding her face in her hair.

"I'm so scared, Av." Nora said, a quiet sob escaping her as she held Ava tightly.

"I'm scared too." Ava whispered and closed her eyes.

"We have to believe that they'll b-be okay." Her voice cracked. "They're strong. They will survive this."

"But what if they don't?" Nora mumbled into Ava's shoulder, her arms tightening around her.

They didn't notice that the rest of the team had finished getting ready and were now watching them from the other side of the room.

"I..." Ava didn't know what to say. "They will. They have to." She said, gently rocking them back and forth.

After a few minutes of holding each other, Ava pulled away to look into Nora's eyes. "Now, chin up. We're going to Aruba!" She forced a smile.

Nora smiled and giggled softly. "Yeah, we are." She said and looked at her. "You still haven't changed." She realized.

Ava looked down at herself, realizing she was still in her casual clothes instead of a bathing suit like Nora was.

"I should go do that. Can you get towels and sunscreen from Gideon while I get dressed?" Ava said as she grabbed her phone and turned around. She noticed in her peripheral that the team was hiding behind a corner, presumably to avoid Ava finding out they were watching them.

"Will do." Nora said.

"Thanks, honey." Ava said before walking to her and Sara's room.

"They'll be okay. She'll be okay." Ava whispered to herself as she changed into her bathing suit, which was just a black bikini top and some swim shorts. She put on a dark blue cover-up and grabbed her sunglasses, putting on flip flops.

She picked up her favourite book and put it in a plastic bag, just in case it got water on it, then walked out of the room.

When she got to the main room, the Legends were there with Nora carrying three bags of what Ava assumed were towels and sunscreen.

"Thanks, Nor." Ava smiled and took the bags from her.

"Buckle up, team. We're headed to Aruba." Ava said and sat down in Sara's Captain's chair, buckling in before putting in the coordinates.

The ride was smooth enough, quicker than Ava had anticipated. Soon enough, Gideon was landing them in a secluded area and cloaking the ships to avoid the locals finding it.

Ava smiled and stood up, turning around to face the Legends as she picked up the bags.

"We're here. Now, I think I should go over some safety rules before we get off the ship." Ava hummed.

Mick grunted in annoyance.

"Really?" Charlie asked, just wanting to be able to leave the ship and go swim.

Ava nodded and looked at them, "Yes, really. They're very simple."

Ava cleared her throat, "no running off without telling me, no telling the locals about time travel, no littering, and you have to put sunscreen on before you go out there." She smiled. "That's all."

"Yes, mom." Behrad teased her with the nickname he'd been calling her for awhile.

Ava rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop herself from smiling. She really did love this group.

"Follow me." Ava said as Gideon opened the door. She walked out. She sighed happily when the warmth from the sun hit her and instantly relaxed her.

They made it over to the main beach area and were happy to see that there were only a few other people there.

She moved some beach chairs close to each other and opened one of the umbrellas.

"Dude, we should totally go play beach volleyball." Nate said to Behrad, who nodded excitedly.

"Yeah! Let's do it." Behrad grinned and went to leave before Ava grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Nope. Sunscreen first." She reminded before reaching into the bag and pulling up the multiple cans of sunscreen. She handed each of them to the legends before taking off her cover-up. She put it in the bag and then sprayed herself with sunscreen.

When she turned to face them again, they looked slightly sheen and she knew they'd done what she asked.

"All done?"

They nodded.

"Yep! Can we please go now?" Behrad begged and Ava nodded.

"Yes!" Nate cheered and tossed the sunscreen onto one of the chairs before running over to the volleyball court with Behrad.

Charlie put their hair up in a bun at the top of their head before running over to the ocean and jumping in belly first.

Ava winced as she watched Charlie fall into the water face first. She was about to ask if they were okay when Charlie resurfaced with a wide smile on their face. They looked more content than Ava had ever seen them.

Ava chuckled fondly at the sight before looking at Mick, who went to the chair that was furthest away from the umbrella and laid down, wanting to tan.

Ava put the sunscreen back in the bags, not wanting it to clutter their space. When it was cleaned, she sighed happily and laid down on the beach chair under the umbrella. She took off her shoes and grabbed her book, stretching out on the chair to get comfortable.

"You know, you're pretty good at this whole time mom thing." Nora said and grinned, laying down on the chair next to Ava's.

Ava looked over at her. "You think so?"

Nora nodded. "Yep. Maybe a little too good, even." She chuckled and put on her sunglasses. She tucked her hands under her head, elbows bent on either side of it, as she relaxed.

"Good. That's good." Ava hummed and looked back down at her book.

"You know," Ava continued reading as she talked, "I've never been to a beach before now."

Nora frowned, "wait, really?"

"Really. I have fake memories of going as a kid but... I've never actually been to one." Ava bit her lip as she slightly tensed.

It was much easier to talk about her fake memories than it was when she first found out about them, but it was still a sensitive topic for her.

"Wait a second." Nora sat up. "You're telling me that you're spending your first time at the beach reading? C'mon Av! You should go get in the water!"

Ava shrugged. "I was thinking about it but I'm not sure. I'm pretty comfortable here."

Nora didn't respond for a moment before she begged, "pleaseee! Please, Av. Just for a minute then you can get out."

Ava sighed. She didn't really want to get wet but she couldn't resist Nora looking at her like that. "Okay fine." She agreed and put her book aside, standing up and holding her hand out for Nora.

Nora grabbed it and stood up. She pulled Ava over to the pool. "You're gonna love it, trust me!"

"I do, but I'm not sure if I'll like this." Ava's casual admittance of trusting her made Nora beam.

"You will." Nora reassured as they made it to the shore.

Charlie saw them and waved before they got out of the water. They went to the shore and sat down, wanting to make a sandcastle.

Ava bit her lip and looked down at the ocean before dipping her foot in it. It wasn't as cold as she thought it would be. She hummed, happy with this so far.

"Maybe this won't be so bad." Ava said and walked deeper into the pool with Nora.

"Guys, look! Mom's finally getting in the water!" Behrad said from where he was at the volleyball court, pointing at Ava. He wasn't paying attention to Nate spiking the ball down and got hit right in the head, falling down in the sand.

"Shit!" Nate said and ran over to Behrad to make sure he was okay.

"Behrad? Are you okay?" Ava called out from the ocean.

Behrad winced but gave Ava a thumbs up. "All good!"

Nate helped him up and he brushed some of the sand off of him before they continued playing.

Ava sighed and rubbed her temples. "God, what am I going to do with them?" She mumbled.

Nora giggled. "You know you love them." She countered.

"I do." Ava said softly, not even trying to deny it. "So... what does one do in the ocean anyways?"

"There's a lot of things. But... there's something I want to try." Nora said before she turned around and squatted slightly. "Get on my back."

Ava frowned. "I'll crush you."

Nora rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Av. You may be a tree but you won't crush me." She chuckled.

"A tree?" Ava giggled and put her hands on Nora's shoulders.

"Yep. Now, hop on."

Ava took in a deep breath, trusting Nora as she jumped.

Nora caught her by the back of her thighs and held her up. Ava squealed, eyes wide with excitement and a little fear. "Oh my god! Don't drop me!" She giggled and wrapped her legs tightly around Nora, her arms around her neck.

"Relax. I'm stronger than I look." Nora said before she tightened her grip on Ava's thighs and went deeper into the water with her.

Ava grinned as she looked at the water, the wind in her hair and the salty smell of the ocean was so soothing to her. She didn't expect to like the beach this much, as she preferred colder temperatures to hotter ones. But, she found herself enjoying this. She hadn't felt this relaxed in awhile.

As Nora walked deeper, Ava saw a wave starting to form away from them. "Wait. Nor. We gotta go back." She said quickly, tense now.

Nora frowned. "What? Why?"

"The wave! We'll drown." Ava said, watching it closer. Her fake memories didn't have anything involving waves, just "her" playing in the sand and sitting at the shore, so she didn't know what to expect.

"We won't."

"We will!"

"Do you trust me?" Nora asked.

Ava nodded. "Of course I do." Ava said without hesitation.

Nora held onto Ava tighter and took a step back. "Then trust that I won't let us drown. I wouldn't let anything happen to you and Sara would probably kill me if I did anyways, so..." She shrugged.

Ava shrieked as the wave hit them, Nora getting most of the water against her front. Ava cling to her tightly and closed her eyes.

It was over quickly, quicker than Ava had expected. And suddenly, she wanted to do it again. Now that she knew she wouldn't drown from it, the feeling of adrenaline that rushed through her as the wave hit them was almost addictive. She wanted more.

"That wasn't so bad, huh?" Nora asked knowingly when Ava relaxed her grip on her.

"No... it wasn't. Let's do it again!"

Hours passed by and they were all tired and hungry now. They were sitting on the beach chairs, Mick having his own while Behrad and Nate shared one. Nora and Ava shared one while Charlie sat on the sand, having insisted on it.

"I can go get us food really quick from the Waverider." Ava suggested, not wanting to deal with a group of hangry Legends.

"Please do. I'm starving." Behrad said, Nate nodding in agreement.

Charlie shrugged, "I could eat."

"I'm hungry." Mick said.

"I'm starved." Nora chimed in.

"Okay, I'll be right back." Ava stood up and put on her cover-up. "Nora, you're in charge while I'm gone. Behave." She looked at all of them before walking off to where the Waverider was hiding.

While she was there, she checked her phone for any updates from Sara. When there wasn't any, she sighed and shook her head. "She's fine. She'll be okay." She whispered to herself. She needed to believe that.

She went to the galley and fabricated a lot of sandwiches and fruit for them to eat, grabbing some beers for Mick and water bottles for the rest of them, before heading back out there.

"Here you go." She handed them each a sandwich and put the fruit down for them to eat when they wanted. She handed Mick a beer and handed the rest water bottles.

"Thanks, mom!" Behrad said before practically devouring the sandwich. "This is really good!" He said, mouth full of food.

"Tell Gideon that when we get back." Ava hummed and nibbled on her sandwich as she sat back down next to Nora.

She looked up at the sky and frowned when the sun was already starting to set. "Wow... we've been here all day." She noted.

"Really?" Nate looked up. "Oh... I guess we have." He chuckled when he saw the sky.

"Time flies when you're having fun." Behrad chimed in and finished his sandwich, digging into the fruit.

"Yep!" Charlie agreed, smiling.

"Wasn't bad." Mick grumbled, though Ava could see him trying to hide his smile behind his sandwich.

She grinned. "Not bad at all."

Once everyone was done eating, Ava threw away the trash and gathered up all of their belongings.

"Ready to head back?" She asked them. It was dark outside now.

They were all clearly tired from the long day as they slowly walked back to the Waverider.

They took turns showering, used to this routine by now.

When they were all ready to sleep, Ava said goodnight to them.

"Sleep well. If something happens with Sara or Ray, I'll let you all know okay?" Ava said and smiled at them.

"Okay. Night, Ava." Nate smiled at her before turning around to leave.

"Night, mom." Behrad chuckled and gave her a quick hug. He then quickly followed behind Nate.

Mick grumbled a goodnight to Ava and left.

"Night, ma!" Charlie said teasingly with a wink before leaving Nora and Ava alone.

"Are you going to sleep too?" Ava asked Nora when the girl seemed like she wasn't going to leave.

"I will later... not now. Maybe we could... watch a movie? Or something?" Nora asked with a hesitant smile.

"Yeah, of course." Ava smiled and went into the game room. She sat down on the couch and propped her feet up on the table, a habit she'd no doubt picked up from Sara.

Nora sat next to Ava and leaned against her. "What do you want to watch?" She asked, yawning as she grabbed the blanket to throw over them.

"I don't care. You choose." She said and put her arm around Nora's shoulders, yawning softly. She turned the ringer up on her phone just in case Sara messaged her during the night before she relaxed.

Nora picked a corny romance movie that Ava pretended not to like (Nora knew she was secretly a softie for things like that) and they fell asleep on the couch together.

The dull noises of the Waverider's mechanics were the only sound once Gideon turned off the movie. The A.I. dimmed the lights before checking the status of Sara and Ray.

Gideon wasn't exactly capable of human emotions like worry, but she was curious about what her captain and Ray were doing. When she saw that they was safe and fighting alongside the other heroes, she put herself on sleep mode. Sara and Ray would be okay. It was like Ava said, they just had to believe that they'd make it.

Everything would work out the way it was supposed to.


End file.
